A Review Of 'Ghostbusters: Dimension': The Crazy New Free-Roaming VR Installation

The promise of virtual reality is immense, and obvious to anybody who has seen a 90s cyber-thriller (Johnny Mnemonic, anybody? How about Strange Days?): A portable holodeck that can transport a user to any time or place, while main-lining the nervous system with an almost overwhelming sense of "thereness".

But while the current generation of rigs is converting the masses into believers, there are still a few hurdles that keep our bodies and brains from becoming totally convinced that we are not actually in a conference room. The
HTC Vive is the only current consumer product that offers so-called "roomscale" VR (that is, the ability to actually walk through a real space and have it translated into virtual movement). But while it is very impressive, it still confines your movement to a small room. And then there's the issue of objects: Interacting with things in VR essentially casts you as a ghost. Wave your hands against a wall and all you get is air. You get the sense this is what Patrick Swayze's character felt like in Ghost.

Ghostbusters: Dimension is a ticketed experience at Madame Tussaud's in New York (Photo: Seth Porges)

The promise behind Salt Lake City-based VR experience producers The Void: What if we can fix these issues, and create virtual reality experiences that feel a lot more like reality? That means giving participants free-roaming VR rigs that are not tethered to a computer, and placing them in rooms that are mapped to a VR experience—so if you place your hand on a wall or object, there's actually a wall or object to touch. Clever use of fans, moving platforms, and the occasional splash of water fill out the experience—as does the ability to cohabitat the virtual space with other actual humans at the same time. The company calls the whole thing "hyper-reality", and it has the VR world very, very excited.

Early demonstrations of these ideas have drawn a lot of buzz, but the first consumer-ready implementation is only now being unveiled: Ghostbusters: Dimension, a ticketed virtual exploration of the Ghostbusters universe that opens today at the Madame Tussaud's wax museum in New York.

I had the opportunity to give Ghostbusters: Dimension for a test ride. Here's what I came away with:

The entire experience lasts about 10 minutes, and can handle three people at a time. To avoid long lines, Dimension tickets are sold for specific time slots. They cost $49.75, and include entry to the rest of the museum, as well as a new Ghostbusters-themed walkthrough exhibit.

The experience begins with participants creating virtual avatars of themselves using a software program that should be familiar to anybody who has used a video game character-creation tool. They are then outfitted with the VR rig, which includes a vibrating vest (hello haptics!), a VR headset with ear-covering headphones, and a blaster gun for zapping ghouls. There is also a "proton pack" backpack, which is actually a cleverly disguised computer that is needed to run the simulation while allowing for full mobility. Whoever had the idea to turn this necessary hardware into an object that fits into the Ghostbusters universe deserves a raise.